Blog

Interest Rate Update

May 16th, 2013 7:54 AM

Rates continued down near record lows in the past few weeks. Freddie Mac announced that for the week ending May 2, 30-year fixed rates fell from 3.40% to 3.35%. The average for 15-year loans decreased to a record low 2.56%. Adjustable rates also fell, with the average for one-year adjustables down to 2.56% and five-year adjustables also falling to 2.56%. A year ago 30-year fixed rates were at 3.84%. Frank Nothaft, Vice President and Chief Economist at Freddie Mac recently stated: "Rates on home loans eased somewhat following the release of the advance estimate of real GDP growth for the first quarter of the year, which rose 2.5 percent but fell short of the market consensus forecast. The latest GDP report confirmed that the housing sector has become an important contributor to the economic recovery. Residential fixed investment added to overall economic growth over the past eight consecutive quarters and contributed more than 0.3 percentage points in growth over the first three months of this year. Moreover, near record low rates should further drive the housing market recovery over the near term."